Shadows over Tulyn
by waterlemongirl
Summary: A group of outlaws led by Tai are trying to save thier country before it falls apart under the rule of an evil king. Sorato, TaKari, Izzy/Mimi, Yolei/Ken, Tai&OC. Discontinued as didn't know how to continue.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer : Digimon is not mine

"Where'd she go?"

"I saw her go down that alley, there!"

The girl ran down the narrow lane, keeping in the shadows. She looked over her shoulder. The men were gaining ground. _No, please, no! _she thought, speeding up.

"You're not going to get away, this time!" one of the men yelled menacingly.

The girl ignored their calls and kept running. She rounded a corner only to come face to face with a brick wall. The men seeing that she had nowhere to go, slowed to a walk. The girl turned to face them, taking the bag she was carrying off her shoulder and holding it in front of her as a shield.

"You're trapped little missy. You have nowhere to run," the front-most man laughed.

"And now, before we turn you over to the soldiers, we're going to have some fun with you," said another man, pulling out a knife which even in the darkness of the night seemed to glint evilly.

Suddenly, a ball landed on the ground next to their feet and exploded in a cloud of smoke, making the men wretch and their eyes to tear up. When the smoke finally cleared and the men could breathe again, the girl they had been chasing was gone.

***

"That was way to close," Mimi told Sora, as they galloped away from the city.

"You're telling me," Sora replied, clutching her bag closer to her chest, "thanks for rescuing me there. I would have been toast without you!"

"Hey, it was nothing. That's what we do anyway, we look out for each other," Mimi replied.

"I hope this has the answer we've been looking for anyway..." Sora muttered. The two girls lapsed into silence, guiding their horses along the dirt road that lead from the city of Tulyn to the forest and the mountains beyond.

***

"She escaped! What do you mean she escaped?!" the king roared at the captain of the army who cowered in front of him.

"Its not our fault, your Majesty! We would have caught her, only some citizens decided to involve themselves and let her get away from them..." the captain grovelled, kneeling on the floor at the king's feet.

"What did that traitor steal this time?" the king asked angrily.

"The ..... " the captain muttered.

"Speak up man! What did she take?"

"The... Book of Prophesies...." the captain said louder and winced. The king's face turned purple with anger. He stood up and stormed to a small door in the side of the throne room.

"Umm... your most gracious Majesty.... what are your orders?" the captain asked, standing up shakily.

"My orders? Send all of your men out to search the woods, the mountains and the valleys. Every remote village and hiding place. No stone can be left unturned! We must retrieve the Book!" the king said before slamming the door behind him, leaving the captain alone.

Yeah... its pretty short. I don't know whether to continue it or not. Please read and reveiw.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer :I don't own digimon

(For this story Mimi, Izzy and Sora are 19, Tai and Matt are 20, Joe is 22 and Davis, Yolei, T.K. Kari, Ken and Cody are 17)

Mimi and Sora dismounted when they reached the foot of the mountains. The route they were taking was too steep for their mounts. They set them free to be found by a farmer or villagers who could put them to good use. The two girls climbed steadily as the night turned to morning and the birds in the treetops started to sing. They paused outside a cave half hidden by vines to catch their breath.

"Who goes there?" a voice growled menacingly from inside. The girls jumped then laughed.

"It's just us, Izzy. Sora and Mimi," Sora replied. A boy with short, hair like a bird's nest crept out of the cave to check.

"Mimi! It is you! I was so worried when you didn't get back late last night..." Izzy said, gathering the girl in question into his arms.

"I missed you too," Mimi told him, kissing him gently on the cheek, "Sora had a little...trouble... with some guards and I had to save her again."

"Again? What do you mean? I remember last time you were the one in trouble and I had to save you," Sora said in mock indignation and Izzy laughed.

"Hey, Sor. Tai is waiting for you in the main hut to hear how things went. Did you get the book?" Izzy asked anxiously. Sora nodded, holding up the bag. Izzy grinned.

"I'd better go in," Sora said and the three of them entered the cave. They followed a complex twist of tunnels to reach a large cavern filled with teenagers. The roof of the cavern was gone, blown off in a volcanic explosion hundreds of years ago. Huts had been built around the walls of the cave providing shelter for the inhabitants of this place. A stream ran through the centre of the cavern which was boarded by a narrow bridge. By the stream a couple of girls were teaching a couple of guys to wash their own smelly clothes. The blonde boy known to his friends as T.K. was laughing as the girls, Kari and Yolei, finally had enough of the last boy's (Davis) terrible jokes and pushed him into the stream. He surfaced, spluttering with teeth chattering at the cold. His eyes narrowed at T.K. laughing at him.

"You think this is funny, T.J? Lets see how you like it!" Davis grabbed hold of T.K.'s leg and pushed back, dragging the blonde into the water with him.

"You guys are a nightmare!" Kari sighed.

"Well as long as you're in the water, you may as well wash your dirty socks. They smell terrible!" Yolei laughed, throwing the pile on top of them, making the boys gag. Sora laughed and gave the four a wave as she passed them on her way to the central hut.

The hut was occupied by two men bent over a map. Sora stood by the door, wondering whether to go in or wait for a better time.

"We can't go back to the city for supplies. It's too dangerous. Every time we go there one of us almost gets captured. It was foolish even to send Sora and Mimi there," the taller blonde one was saying.

"You know they had to go, Matt," the brunette replied, "we need that prophesy. But anyway, if we don't go to the city, where do you propose we go to get supplies? With the high taxes the king makes the villages pay, it would just be cruel for us to steal their food as well."

"I don't know..." Matt sighed.

"Umm, guys? Is this a bad time?" Sora asked.

"Sora! You're back!" Tai cried, giving the girl a hug. "Did you get it? The Book?"

"Yep!" Sora smiled, handing it to him. He pulled the book carefully out of the bag, staring at the gold embossed letters on the black leather, the Book of Prophesies.

"Excellent. Finally we have the answer..." Tai muttered, cradling it.

"Don't just stand there, open it and find what it says about us!"Matt shouted impatiently.

"Oh right," Tai shook his head, as if to clear it from the spell. He opened the book to the last page, the final prophesy. The others lent over his shoulder to read what it had to say.

Yay! Another chapter done. Still short. I'm not good at long one. Anyway... please read and review...


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

The king stormed down the dark corridors of the castle to the western tower. He climbed the long winding staircase until he reached a small wooden door. He knocked and waited. Previous experience had taught him that pushing his way into this particular room was a bad idea. There was a muffled explosion from the other side of the door. Dark blue smoke filtered under the heavy wood and the door was flung open by a gasping man dressed in a long white coat and goggles.

"Experimenting again?" the king asked sarcastically.

"Ahh, King Alfred! What brings you to my humble chambers? Come in, come in... Mind the table, the acid will burn your skin off. Pull up a chair. I'll just open a window to clear this smoke," the goggled man spoke quickly and tugged at one of the stiff windows, letting in pure, clean air.

"Now, what was it you needed?" he asked again, sitting down on a stool.

"Are you familiar with the Book of Prophecies?" King Alfred queried.

"Very familiar, I spent several years studying it when I was looking for..." the king cut into the scientist's ramble.

"Yes, yes... I'm interested in one prophecy in particular. The last prophecy, the only one left to come true. Tell me Cedric, do you know what that last prophecy said?"

"Yes, your majesty. Why do you ask?"

"A group of rebels have stolen the book and I believe that they are interested in the last prophecy. I need to find out why they might be interested in it," the king replied.

"Well, I studied that one the longest to see if I could guess when it might come about. I believe I do remember the exact wording...

_**When shadows over Tulyn lie,**_

_**And women weep and children cry,**_

_**The people groan and lament,**_

_**Who will save them from torment?**_

_**From the mountains in the North,**_

_**A proud army will come forth.**_

_**Seek the crystal in the valley of Rantyl,**_

_**Whoever holds it will win in the coming battle.**_

Tai read aloud. Matt and Sora looked at each other in confusion.

"Well that's as clear as mud..." Sora muttered, "what does it mean?"

"I have no idea," Tai sighed, sitting down heavily.

"I'm no good at riddles. Why don't we get Izzy and Ken. They're pretty smart. They may have some idea what it's talking about," Matt suggested. Tai agreed and went to find them. Sora and Matt were left alone together.

"So... umm... did you have a good trip?" Matt asked.

Sora gave a small laugh, "apart from being chased by men out to kill me, it was a blast."

"Oh, yeah," Matt smiled and slouched against the wall.

"Did you do anything interesting without us?" Sora asked.

"Tai and I have been looking at our supplies, we need to make another run. Apart from that, nothing has happened. Oh except that we have a new recruit. His name is Joe and he's a doctor," Matt replied.

"Wow, that's useful," Sora said. Just then, Tai returned with Izzy and Ken. They looked over the prophecy.

"Hmm... well, 'shadows over Tulyn' must refer to the state Tulyn is in now," Izzy said, getting stuck in straight away.

"Yes... then the next three lines just go into more description..." Ken added.

"The army from the mountains must refer to our little group," Izzy said, looking at Tai.

"But, we're not big enough to be an army..." Tai argued.

"Maybe we'll get more recruits..." Izzy suggested before continuing, " I'm not sure what the crystal being referred to in the valley of Rantyl is though."

"I've heard of it," Ken said, surprising everyone, "there is a legend that long ago King Henry found a magical crystal that would give the army wielding it great power. It was lost hundreds of years ago, dropped during a battle although no one remembers where the battle was held any more."

"Well, I'm going to hazard a guess that it is in the Rantyl valley," Matt said, walking over to the table to find it on the map.

"We need to find it Tai," Izzy said to his leader.

"Yeah, it would give us the edge we need to defeat King Alfred," Sora agreed.

"But we don't even know where it is, except that it may be in this valley. It may not even exist," Tai said, looking unsure.

"I'm sure it does exist. None of the prophecies have been wrong in the past. You could send a small group to find it, Tai, while you gather an army to finally overthrow the king," Izzy suggested. Tai bit his lip and thought for a moment.

"Very well, tomorrow I'll ask for a few volunteers to go search for it," Tai decided.

***

The King was back in his throne room. Captain Thom and his advisor Vanalt were awaiting his orders.

"As soon as those rebels read that prophecy, they are going to be searching for that crystal. If they get it there is a chance that they may be able to overthrow me," the king shouted.

"My lord, those fools could never defeat your powerful, magnificent self," Vanalt grovelled.

"Shut up, Van. If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked for it. Captain! I want you to send a party out to find the crystal before those rebels do," King Alfred commanded.

"Yes, your majesty. I believe I have just the man to lead this mission..." the captain smiled slowly.

***

In the army courtyard, a group of soldiers were doing marching drills. The lieutenant yelled orders at them.

"Left Right Left Right! Lift those knees higher! Neville! I said 'Left Right' not 'Right Left Fall over' Get it right or you'll be scrubbing the toilets with a toothbrush for a week!"

"Ah, Lieutenant Cody. Drilling the troops I see," Captain Thom came up to join him.

"They're a sorry lot. I'm not sure I've ever seen a worse bunch," Cody sighed, crossing his arms and frowning. He was the youngest army recruit ever to reach the title of Lieutenant at just the age of 17. However, all the captains had to agree that he was probably the best soldier they had ever seen. He had joined the King's army at the age of fourteen after his parents died. He rarely smiled and went head-long at ever task he was set.

"You always turn out exceptional soldiers," Thom said and Cody smiled, "that's not what I came to talk to you about though. I want you to go on a secret mission for the King..."

_Finally, a longer chapter. Please read and review._


	4. Chapter 4

The princess sighed as she looked out over the forest from her perch on the window sill. The wind lifted her hair and she closed her eyes, inhaling the sweet, cool evening air deeply. She turned to the young woman who was preparing her bed for the night.

'It's so cruel of my father to make me stay inside on such a beautiful evening,' she pouted, her pretty features twisting into a grimace.

'It's not really my place to say, my lady, but that may be because of the numerous times you have tried to run away,' the woman said, smiling gently.

The princess frowned, 'the castle is just so boring. I want to go on an adventure and meet a handsome young man to fall in love with so we can live happily ever after. I don't want to stay here and marry some fat old man that my father decides I should wed.'

'Maybe the king will find a handsome young prince for you,' the woman said, soothingly moving to the window to brush the princess's hair.

'Unlikely. I don't know if there even are any! Esther,' the princess turned to face her, 'do you believe in love at first sight?'

'Not exactly. I believe in attraction at first sight, that can turn into love on further acquaintance.'

'That's so unromantic! Someday I'm going to meet the man of my dreams, our eyes will meet across a crowded room and we'll know...'

'Know what, my lady?'

'That we're Meant To Be! It will be so romantic. I can just imagine us dancing, talking...' the princess said dreamily, twirling around the room. Esther laughed as she was caught up in the dance and they both spun around the room. Eventually the princess stopped, flopping down on the bed.

'Goodnight, Princess Silver. Sleep well. Dream of your Prince Charming,' Esther whispered as the princess's eyes began to close. She gently tucked her in and tiptoed out of the door.

Silver woke in the middle of the night with a terrible thirst. She sleepily got out of bed, her questing feet kicking the chair as she made her way to the table where she knew a jug of water sat. She sat on the window sill as she quenched her thirst. A movement by the gate caught her eye. She stared down. A group of soldiers were leaving, attempting to make no sound and so were making more noise than usual.

'Why do we have to leave at night?'

'Yeah, can't we go tomorrow morning? I haven't had nearly enough sleep.' Another soldier turned and hissed at them, 'shut up! Captain told us we're leaving now so we're leaving now. Does anyone want to take it up with him?'

They looked at their leader, impassive on his horse and immediately were quiet. As they clanked through the gates he turned to look up at the castle, at the princess at her window. Silver watched them make their way into the forest, shrugged, and went back to bed.

'No, no, no! Kari, you can't volunteer!' an enraged Tai shouted.

'Why not? You're letting Yolei go. I'm the same age as her, I'm as good with a bow. So what's the problem?' Kari asked indignantly. The other outlaws looked on, torn between amusement and worry. Matt and Mimi were even betting on the outcome of the argument.

'Because... ohh.... You're my sister! And I don't want you in danger,' Tai stuttered. If Kari had been angry before, she was livid now.

'I'm not a baby any more, Tai. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself!'

So far, T.K., Yolei, Davis and Ken had volunteered to go on the mission to find the crystal spoken of by the prophecy. Kari was trying to join them, to the dismay of her older brother, who wanted her safe. However, he didn't have a very good argument and it was only a matter of time before he would have to give in.

'Fine. You can go. Five is a good number, anyway,' he muttered, trying to hide the fact that he'd just been beaten by his younger sister in front of all his men.

'Woohoo! Pay up,' everyone turned to the sound. Mimi was handing over a few coins to Matt. They at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed.

'Don't you guys have something to do?' Tai said angrily, stalking off to his hut. The outlaws started to drift to their various jobs except for the five volunteers and Izzy. Izzy had not been idle the earlier evening. He had filled packs with items necessary for the journey and had plotted a route on a map he was now showing the group.

'I suggest taking the path along the foot of the mountains before cutting through the forests here, over this hill, along the river...' Davis looked in dismay at the long trek ahead of them.

'Wow, that's a long way,' he gulped.

'Not really. If you make a good 15 miles a day, I estimate you will only take two weeks to reach the valley,' Izzy told him. Kari laughed,' I don't think Davis has walked 15 miles in his life.'

'Do we have any idea of where the crystal is in the valley?' T.K. asked interrupting the murderous glare of Davis.

'I'm afraid not. There is a village just outside the valley though. I would suggest visiting there to ask for old legends that might give you clues as to were to look.'

Tai had cooled down by the time the searchers were ready to leave. He hugged his sister goodbye and wished the others good luck. He and Matt watched them disappear from view.

'What are we going to do now?' Matt asked his friend.

'Build up an army I guess, if we want to be ready when they get back,' Tai suggested.

'Do you think they'll be ok?' Matt wondered, thinking of his younger brother.

'I hope so...' Tai went back into the cave. It was quite emptier now its younger members were gone. It would take a lot of work to build up even a half decent army.

'Matt?'

'Yes, Tai?'

'Do you have any friends in the city? Any that might have access to the caste?'

'I may know of one...'

'We might need an inside man.'

'She'll be an inside woman.'

'Trustworthy?'

'I'd trust her with my life.'

'With the outlaws lives?'

'Definitely! She hates the king. She would be on our side.'

'Good. Could you get in touch with her?'

'I'll go tomorrow.'


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry it's been a while. It's been busy with exams and bad writers block.

Disclaimer : I don't own Digimon.

The sun was high overhead before the search party stopped for their first rest. Davis had been complaining of tiredness and hunger for at least an hour but the rest had ignored him, in hopes of getting a good distance away from the outlaw base before they stopped. They had found a small clearing in the forest with a stream bubbling through it, picturesque and inviting. Kari flopped down on the grass and leaned against a tree with a grateful sigh.

'Wow, I'm tired. How far do you think we've walked Ken?'

'I don't know. A good three miles I'm guessing.' Ken replied. Davis was rummaging through the packs.

'Davis, what are you doing?' Yolei asked him, as he pulled various items out and grunted in dismay.

'I'm looking for food. Which pack is it in? I'm starving,' he said plaintively.

'Izzy gave me the food to look after,' T.K. said, from the other side of the clearing. Davis frowned.

'Here, have an apple.' The frown cleared up as Davis caught the apple tossed to him. T.K. shared out apples among the others. Davis shined the apple on his shirt and brought it up to his mouth. It was knocked out of his hand by Yolei, who was gesturing wildly for silence.

'Can you hear something coming for over there?' she whispered, as the boy scrambled after his fruit. Everyone strained their ears in the direction Yolei was pointing. They nodded as they all heard it, the sounds of people unaccustomed to woods stumbling through the trees. Cries as branches whipped faces and thorns scratched hands filled the air.

'They're coming right towards us,' Ken muttered.

'Someone should go to find out who it is,' Kari suggested. They all turned to look at Davis, who had recovered his apple.

'Thanks for volunteering,' T.K. said, pushing Davis away from the clearing.

'But.. I… what?' Davis stammered, confusion written all over his face.

'Oh Davis, you're so brave. I really admire you for doing this,' Kari said sweetly. The confusion was replaced with a look of manliness and bravery.

'Right!' he cried, marching away. He crept silently through the forest towards the source of the noise. They were in a ditch below him and he crouched down behind a bush to watch. There were at least ten of them, fully armed men with the crest of the king proudly displayed on their shiny breastplates. It was the only thing shiny about them though. They were covered with mud and had twigs stuck in their armour. Davis shook his head admiringly. It took a special kind of person to be that useless in a forest. Their leader apparently agreed with him. He was a young man, Davis guessed about his age or even younger and was currently yelling abuse at the soldiers.

'You no-good, lazy worms! Are you soldiers or little girlies? Getting all upset by some mud and a little walk up hill. You've been spoilt with your cushy job at the castle. Pick up the pace or we won't be there before winter!'

'I can't believe I'm being yelled at by a teenager,' one of the men whispered to another. Cody whipped around and was upon the poor man before he could blink.

'Do you have something you wish to say, soldier?' he asked, threateningly.

'No, sir!' the man said.

'Are you sure? Because if you do have any problems I'd be happy to take them back to the king for them to be sorted out.'

'No, no, no! Everything's good,' the man stuttered nervously. Cody raised an eyebrow, 'are you sure?'

'Positively sir! Happy to be out doing my duty for my country by finding the crystal, sir!'

'Good, good. I'd hate to have to give a poor report when we return, understand?' Cody's voice was soft and pleasant but his expression was ominous. The men returned with a round of yes sirs and salutes.

Davis, having heard enough by now, turned to go but his foot accidentally trod on a fallen twig which snapped loudly. Ten heads turned to look up at him.

'A rebel spy!' one shouted.

'Get him!' Cody ordered and, as one, the troop rushed towards him. Davis fled.

The rest of the group were just beginning to wonder where he was when Davis burst through the foliage and into their midsts.

'Davis? What's the matter?' Kari asked.

'Soldiers! Coming this way! Run!' Davis gasped out. Immediately they were on their feet and running for their lives, grabbing their packs as they did.

They ran for ages, stopping only when they were sure they had lost their enemies. While they paused for rest, Davis filled them in on what he had overheard. This journey to find the crystal had now become a race.

Matt ducked into a shadow as a group of the King's Men marched by. There were more of them now than before the Book had been stolen. The king was building up his defenses and monitoring the comings and goings of his people at the city gates. It had been hard getting in but luckily he knew of a hole in the city walls he had found playing as a kid. Scares few knew of its existance, only those that he trusted. The woman he was going to see now was one of them.

She was a girl he had known all his life. They had grown up together, on the same street even. They had gone to the same school and had rarely been seen apart, best friends forever. However, when he had gone to join the rebels, she had stayed to work in the palace to be a spy on the inside. They hardely saw one another now but the friendship still stood.

He had sent her a message telling her to meet at the King's Tavern that evening. The tavern was a dingy old building which should have been torn down years ago and rebuilt properly. The roof sagged in the middle and dripped terribly in the rain. The windows had wood boarded over them as the glass had been stolen a while back and had never been replaced and the chimney was partially blocked and filled the room with thin smoke. The rebels liked it though, especially the smoke which made it easier to hide in the corners away from prying eyes that might wish to give them away.

Matt went first to the bar and ordered ale, glancing around the room while he waited for it to find her. She was sitting at a table in the corner of the room and the light behind her cast her face into shadows but he still could tell it was her by the way she held herself and by her long firey red hair. He sat down opposite her, 'long time no see, Esther.'

Hopefully more sooner. I'm not sure whether to keep Cody evil or not. Please read and review.


End file.
